Council reviews multiple federal, state and local grants; approves small community grants

The New Castle County Council on Jan. 28 read and introduced several ordinances to appropriate federal and state grant funds for county departments and approved multiple small community grants from district discretionary funds.

Major grant appropriations presented to the council included: - Ordinance 25-003: $103,632 (federal) from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), passed through the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, to the State and Local Cybersecurity Grant Program (SLGGP) administered by the Office of Technology and Administrative Services. The ordinance was read into the record by council staff; no public comment was recorded in the transcript segment. - Ordinance 25-004: $100,283.68 (federal) from CISA, passed through the Delaware Emergency Management Agency, for a Netskope renewal SLGGP grant, administered by the Office of Technology and Administrative Services. The grant's targeted completion date was read as March 1, 2026. - Ordinance 25-005: $84,396.50 (state) from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to a Christiana Fire Company grant for a command vehicle and boat trailer designated for the Department of Public Safety; council co-chair and committee speaker described the item as a pass-through grant to the fire company. - Ordinance 25-006: $145,140.19 (federal) from the Department of Homeland Security/FEMA for Department of Public Safety equipment, listed items included trauma kits, SWAT helmets and explosive-ordinance-disposal robot equipment. - Ordinance 25-007: $105,744.14 (federal) from DHS/FEMA for training and equipment for the Department of Public Safety; transcript indicates this is a reimbursement through the state's Homeland Security Grant Program. - Ordinance 25-008: $163,014 (federal) — 2024 Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) for the New Castle County Department of Public Safety, Division of Police; the auditor (council speaker) said the grant will support police overtime in high-identified-crime areas, specialized training and emergency victim assistance funds. - Ordinance 25-009: $1,000,000 (federal pass-through) from the U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration through DelDOT to the Commons Boulevard Pathway Phase 2 grant for the Department of Public Works.

The transcript shows council members asked no public commenters for several of the read grant ordinances and there is no recorded formal vote on those ordinance readings in the provided segment. Where the transcript records a council motion and vote, the outcome is recorded below.

Community and discretionary grants (motions, amendments, and outcomes recorded in the transcript): - Village of Ardencroft (district grant): Councilman Cartier moved to grant $2,654 for pedestrian-pathway and park renovations tied to the village's 75th anniversary. The motion was seconded and the motion passed; one member said "I'm not voting," per the transcript (no full roll-call tally recorded in the segment). - Friendship House (code purple program): Council members combined discretionary contributions during the meeting. Councilman Street initially moved a $2,500 grant and multiple members added funds; the motion was amended on the floor to a single grant of $9,250 and council recorded "All in favor? Aye." The transcript captures the amendment and that the motion passed; the precise roll-call tally is not recorded in the segment. - Encore Coalition, Inc. (park/playground project): Councilman Conneco moved $2,500 and the motion carried with a second and an "Aye."

What the grants do: council speakers described the cybersecurity grants as support for county technology protections and renewal of vendor services; FEMA funds were described as equipment and training for public-safety responders; DelDOT and FHWA funds support active-transportation/pathway infrastructure; JAG funding is earmarked for police overtime, training, and victim support.

Not recorded or unclear in the transcript: for several of the larger appropriations read into the record (the federal/state grant ordinances listed above), the transcript segment does not include motions, seconds or a roll-call vote, so the meeting record in this excerpt does not show whether the council formally adopted each ordinance at that time. The transcript does record motions, seconds and votes for the listed community discretionary grants.

Votes at a glance (from the transcript segment): - Ordinance 25-003 (CISA SLGGP grant, $103,632): outcome not specified in transcript segment. - Ordinance 25-004 (Netskope renewal SLGGP grant, $100,283.68): outcome not specified. - Ordinance 25-005 (Christiana Fire Company DelDOT pass-through, $84,396.50): outcome not specified. - Ordinance 25-006 (FEMA equipment, $145,140.19): outcome not specified. - Ordinance 25-007 (FEMA training/equipment, $105,744.14): outcome not specified. - Ordinance 25-008 (JAG 2024, $163,014): outcome not specified. - Ordinance 25-009 (Commons Boulevard Pathway Phase 2 FHWA via DelDOT, $1,000,000): outcome not specified. - Village of Ardencroft grant: $2,654 — motion passed (no full roll-call in segment). - Friendship House (code purple): $9,250 — motion amended on floor and passed (no roll-call tally recorded). - Encore Coalition, Inc.: $2,500 — motion passed (no roll-call tally recorded).

Proper names and agencies appearing in the discussion included New Castle County, Delaware Emergency Management Agency, Department of Public Safety, Department of Transportation (DelDOT), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Highway Administration, and CliftonLarsonAllen (in a separate presentation). Council staff and committee co-chairs read the ordinance titles into the record and noted that there were no public commenters for many of the grant items during the recorded segment.

Next steps: For the large grant ordinances, the transcript does not show final recorded votes in the provided excerpt; council staff should confirm adoption status in the official minutes or the council clerk's record. Community grant recipients (Ardencroft, Friendship House, Encore Coalition) were told funds would be processed and recipients would provide required follow-up reports, per council comments.